Safety faucet



Patented Sept. 11, 1923.

narran stares PAUL B. wnSsoN, or' SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, iissacni'o'n?, To PIAMPD'EN BRASS COMPANY, or SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 'on MASSA- CHUSETTS'.

SAFETY FAUCET.

Application iled September 29, 1921. `Serial No. 504,078.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL B. VVnssoN, a citizen of the United States of America, and

a resident of Springfield, in the county of includes cocks, and said invention comprises,

a spring-pressed valve for an inverted valveseat, a screw provided with the usual stem and handle, and a plunger interposed between said screw and said valve, together with such other parts and members as may be necessary or desirable in order to render the faucet complete and serviceable in every particular, all as hereinafter set forth.

This faucet is adapted to be usedl in the ordinary manner for the discharge of water from a hot-water boiler or tank, but is pro vided with automatic means wherebyrelief is afforded in the event the pressure vin such tank becomes excessive.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a relief or` safety faucet foiuse in connection with a hot-water boiler or tank, which3 faucet is comparatively simple; and inexpensive in construction, and can be` operatedmanually in thek customary` manner' forthe, purpose of drawing water from theI tan-k, yet-is capable at all times of being safety feature in a faucet Without mater,

' riallyy increasing the size of the faucet or changing the general shape and character of the same. Y p

Only one valve is employed, and such valve is of the construction ofl valves most' commonly used In faucets generally, soy that the same can berepaclreld# at any time and thev normal efficiency of the same thereby maintained,

Other objects and advantages will appear' in the course of the following description.

I attain the objects and secure the ad: vantages of my invention by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichf Figure 1 is a side elevation of a faucet which embodies a practical -form of my invention, the casing'and the other inclosing members-being broken away or in section. so as clearly toshow the parts within', and, F ig.` 2, a top plan of the valve.

Similar reference charactersr designate similar parts throughoutthe several views. l In Fig. 1, I show a casing l which superficiallyyhas the appearance of an ordinary faucet casing, but which diHers from the latter in a number of important particulars, as will presently appear. The casing 1 has therein the usual inlet chamber 2 and* out'- let `chamber 3, and is provided on top with the customary,I barrel 4. In the barrel i is a chamber v5, and in the lower part of the casing 1 is anf intermediate chamberf. The inlet chamber 2 communicates with the in# termediate chamber 6 through an openin in a partitionsurrounded by an inverted vvalve-seat 7, and saidintermediate chamber communicates `with the outlet chamberl 3 9.ofsaid partition that separates said outlet` chamber from said inlet chamber above said valve-seat. A part that forms a guide 10 depends from the floor of the chamber 5 and, entendsj downwardly into the` opening surrounded by the valve-seat 7, that portion of said guide whichl extends into. Said opening. being of less diameter than that of the seat. The guide 1Q ends at the bottom on a horizontal plane that is above the horizontal plane of thevalveeseat 7, and said guide has a central passagev through the same to receive a vertical plunger 11.4

TheA wall of .the` chamber 5 -is internally serew-threadedat 1Q, and a screw 13 is in engagement with the threaded. portion of, said wall. When the parts are assembledthe base of thescrew 13 is adapted to engage the t-op of the plunger 11, a portion of said screw being broken away in Fig. 1y to show such engagement more clearly.

A stem. 14 risesrfrom the topof lthe screw 13, and a handle 15 is mounted on the uppery terminal of sai-d stem. A screw-,cap 16 en-V circles the stem 14, and is adapted to be screwed onto the upper terminal of the barrel 4 to close the top of said barrel. Nithin the screw-cap 16 is a packing member 17 and a packing-ring 18 which prevent the escape from the top of the chamber 5 of any water that may lind its way into said chamber 5. The packingring 18 rests on the upper edge of the barrel 4, and the screv/cap 16 has a shoulder that bears on said ring when said cap is screwed down into place. The packing member 17 tits the space around the stem 14y between the packing-ring 18 and the portion of the screw cap 16 that is above said ring, and the latter encircles said stem. The parts and members above the screw 13, which have just been described, are old and wellknown.

Inasmuch as a downward movement of the screw 13 is required to open this faucet,

- instead of an upward movement, as will presently be made plain, I prefer to provide said screw with lett-hand instead of righthand threads, making the threads 12 in the barrel 4 to correspond, of course, so that the directions of movement to which one is accustomed in opening and closing valves will be the same in this as in the ordinary type of valves.

The chamber 6 is cylindrical, and a valve 19 tor the valve-seat 7 is located in said chamber and adapted to be moved up and down therein. The valve 19 has a sliding lit in the chamber 6. Said valve is of usual construction and includes a packing 2O held in place by a screw 21. The packing 2O can be removed, after taking out the screw 21, and a new packing substituted for the old, the new packing being secured in the valve 19 by means ot said screw when the latter is screwed back into place. The head of the screw 21 is of a size which permits the same to enter the bore provided in the guide member 10 for the plunger 11, and the base of said plunger is received on said head.

`The bottom of the guide 10 is a sutiicient distance above the horizontal plane of the valve-seat 7 to avoid interfering with the complete seating of the valve.

A screw cap 22 is provided for the bottom of the chamber 6 and completes the same, said cap being in screw-threaded engagement with the wall of said chamber and `forming a tight joint therewith. The valve 19 has a stem 23 that extends downwardly through the chamber 6 into a vertical recess 24 in the screw-cap 22. A'spirabspring 25 encircles the valve-stem 23 between the valve 20 and the bottom of the chamber 6 formed by a portion of the screw-cap 22, and normally retains said valve in closed position.

It will have been observed that the axes of the stem screw 13 and its stem 14, the

the lower terminal of said spring. When desired for any reason to obtain access to*` the chamber 6, the screw-cap 22 is removed, and with it the valve 19. when `the valve needs repacking. Access may be had to the chamber' 5 by removing the screw-cap 16 and the screw 13. It will be necessary to remove the screw-cap 16 only in the event the packing within said cap needs replacing.

The plunger 11 can be placed in position either from above before the screw 13 is in troduced into the barrel 4, or from below before the valve 19 is inserted in the chamber 6, or ahead of said valve while the same is being inserted. In the, event the plunger 11 drops down with the valve at the' time said valve is removed from the chamber 6, said plunger is' inserted in the guide 10 again ahead of said valve when the latter vis replaced.

Normally the spiral-spring 25 retains the Valve 19 in tight contact or engagement with the valve-seat 7, so that no water from the chamber 2 can escape through said valve seat. The valve 19 is opened manuallyv by grasping the handle 15 and turning the stem 14 and the screw 13 in the direction to cause said screw to travel downwardly in the chamber 5. 'The screw 13 carries downwardly with it the plunger 11, and the latter bearing as it ldoes on the valve screw 21 forces the valve 19 downwardly and away fromthe valve-seat 7, against the resiliency of the spiratspring 25, and so opens said valve-seat and permits the water to pass from the chamber 2 through said seat into the chamber 6. From the chamber 6 the water passes through the opening 8 into the chamber 3, and out through the open mouth thereof. The valve 19 is closed manually by rotating the operating parts in the opposite direction, and thus permitting the spiralspring 25 to raise said valve and force the sameinto close contact with the valve-seat 7. Further How of water from the chamber 2 is now cut off. To all intents and purposes, therefore, the operation of the valve by hand is substantially the same in this faucet as in lfaucets of ordinary construction.

Sufficient upward movement of the screw 13, before it contacts with the packing-ring This will be done v 'i 18, .must be permitted to free the valve'19 f wardly away from the valve-seat 7, when the water escapes from the chamber 2 through said seat into the chamber 6, and from the latter through the opening 8 into the chamber 3, in the same manner as when said valve i is opened by hand. As soon as the pressure in the chamber 2 is reduced to a point which is less than the force of the spiral-spring 25, said spring acts to raise the valve 19 again and cause the same to close t-he valve-seat 7, when the faucet resumes its functioning or is ready to function under normal conditions.

In the foregoing it is seen that a single valve in this faucet serves both as a generalpurpose valve and a relief valve.

Since the valve 19 and its stem 23 are guided in the manner hereinbefore explained, no difliculty is experienced by the spiral-spring 25 in properly and completely seating or closing said valve and retaining the same in closed position, in the absence of pressure from above which forces said valve from its seat, or upon the removal of such pressure.

More or less change may be made in the shape, size, construction, and arrangement of some or all of the parts of this faucet without departing from the spirit of my invention or exceeding the scope of what is claimed.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1.Y rlhe combination, in a safety faucet,

with a casing having therein inlet and outlet chambers and an intermediate chamber opening into said outlet chamber, and provided with a valve-seat between said inlet chamber and said intermediate chamber, and with a guide which has a passage through the same that is in line with the axis of said valve-seat, of a spring-pressed valve for said seat, a screw arranged and adapted to be rotated and reciprocated in said casing, and a plunger operating in said guide between said valve and said screw.

2. The combination, in a safety faucet, with a casing havingtherein inlet and outlet chambers and an intermediate chamber, and provided with an inverted valve-seat between said inlet and intermediate chambers, said intermediate chamber opening below said valve-seat into said outlet chamber, and further provided with a guide having a passage therethrough which is in line with the axis of said valve-seat, and a cap forming the bottom of said intermediate chamber, said cap having a recess therein which is also in line with the aforesaid axis, of a valve in said intermediate chamber for said valve-seat, said valve having a stem which is received in said recess, a spring between y said cap and said valve, a screw arranged and adapted to be rotated and reciprocated in said casing, and a plunger in said passage between said valve and said screw.

PAUL B. WESSON.

Witnesses:

F. A. CUTTER, C. C. WEST. 

